Engineering topics

Reynolds, Robert C.

Publications and source records attributed to Reynolds, Robert C..

8 records

NASA NTRS1997

Spacecraft Orbital Debris Reentry: Aerothermal Analysis

In the past 40 years, thousands of objects have been placed in Earth orbit and are being tracked. Space hardware reentry survivability must be evaluated to assess risks to human life and property on the ground. The objective of this paper is to present results of a study to determine altitude of demise (burn-up) or survivability of reentering objects. Two NASA/JSC computer codes - Object Reentry Survival Analysis Tool (ORSAT) and Miniature ORSAT (MORSAT) were used to determine trajectories, aerodynamic aerothermal environment, and thermal response of selected spacecraft components. The methodology of the two codes is presented, along with results of a parametric study of reentering objects modeled as spheres and cylinders. Parameters varied included mass, diameter, wall thickness, ballistic coefficient, length, type of material, and mode of tumbling/spinning. Two fragments of a spent Delta second stage undergoing orbital decay, stainless steel cylindrical propellant tank and titanium pressurization sphere, were evaluated with ORSAT and found to survive entry, as did the actual objects. Also, orbital decay reentry predictions of the Japanese Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) aluminum and nickel box-type components and the Russian COSMOS 954 satellite beryllium cylinders were made with MORSAT. These objects were also shown to survive reentry.

Rochelle, Wm. C.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The importance of momentum transfer in collision-induced breakups in low Earth orbit

Although there is adequate information on larger objects in low Earth orbit, specifically those objects larger than about 10 cm in diameter, there is little direct information on objects from this size down to 1 mm. Yet, this is the sized regime where objects acting as projectiles represent the ability to seriously damage or destroy a functioning spacecraft if they collide with it. The observed consequences of known collisional breakups in orbit indicates no significant momentum transfer in the resulting debris cloud. The position taken in this paper is that this is an observational selection effect: what is seen in these events is an explosion-like breakup of the target structure arising from shock waves introduced into the structure by the collision, but one that occurs significantly after the collision processes are completed; the collision cloud, in which there is momentum transfer, consists of small, unobserved fragments. Preliminary computations of the contribution of one known collisional breakup, Solwind at 500 km in 1985, and Cosmos 1275 in 1981, assume no momentum transfer on breakup and indicate that these two events are the dominant contributors to the current millimeter and centimeter population. A different story would emerge if momentum transfer was taken into account. The topics covered include: (1) observation of on-orbit collisional breakups; (2) a model for momentum transfer; and (3) velocity space representation of breakup clouds.

Reynolds, Robert C.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Velocity perturbation distributions in the breakup of artificial satellites

A method is presented for calculating the three orthogonal components of the velocity perturbations of satellite fragments, with a view to ascertaining the nature and intensity of the satellite breakup. The method employs three simultaneous equations furnished by changes in fragment specific energy, specific angular momentum, and plane orientation. Velocity perturbations are thereby calculated for fragments from 20 major satellite breakup events; these results, in conjunction with a technique for determining fragment masses, yield a description of the breakup process.

Badhwar, Gautam D.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A review of orbital debris environment modeling at NASA/JSC

Orbital debris modeling in three areas is presented in this paper. These are: (1) debris environment evolution, as characterized by a numerical processor using detailed mission model projections, (2) debris cloud evolution for the time immediately after breakup, and (3) two-dimensional flux density modeling to characterize both flux levels and directionality for a debris environment.

Reynolds, Robert C.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Observing orbital debris using space-based telescopes. I - Mission orbit considerations

In this paper, mission orbit considerations are addressed for using the Space Shuttle as a telescope platform for observing man-made orbital debris. Computer modeling of various electrooptical systems predicts that such a space-borne system will be able to detect particles as small as 1-mm diameter. The research is meant to support the development of debris- collision warning sensors through the acquisition of spatial distribution and spectral characteristics for debris and testing of detector combinations on a shuttle-borne telescopic experiment. The technique can also be applied to low-earth-orbit-debris environment monitoring systems. It is shown how the choice of mission orbit, season of launch, and time of day of launch may be employed to provide extended periods of favorable observing conditions.

Reynolds, Robert C.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Orbital debris research at NASA Johnson Space Center, 1986-1988

Research on orbital debris has intensified in recent years as the number of debris objects in orbit has grown. The population of small debris has now reached the level that orbital debris has become an important design factor for the Space Station. The most active center of research in this field has been the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Work is being done on the measurement of orbital debris, development of models of the debris population, and development of improved shielding against hypervelocity impacts. Significant advances have been made in these areas. The purpose of this document is to summarize these results and provide references for further study.

Reynolds, Robert C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Characteristics of satellite breakups from radar cross section and plane change angle

A problem of considerable interest in orbital debris research is the determination of the cause of the fragmentation of a satellite from the observed radar cross section and orbital element data. In this paper, analytic representations of the observed distribution functions of the radar cross section and the orbital plane change angle are derived. This then allows for the extraction of a small number of features that describe the observed data. Based on the known cause of fragmentation of a subset of satellites, a linear classifier is trained on these derived features. The discriminant function derived from this training is used to determine the previously unknown cause of the satellite breakup. the technique developed is objective and has been applied to the study of the cause of a number of unknown satellite breakup events.

Badhwar, Gautam D.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Orbital debris environment for spacecraft designed to operate in low Earth orbit

The orbital debris environment model is intended to be used by the spacecraft community for the design and operation of spacecraft in low Earth orbit. This environment, when combined with material-dependent impact tests and spacecraft failure analysis, is intended to be used to evaluate spacecraft vulnerability, reliability, and shielding requirements. The environment represents a compromise between existing data to measure the environment, modeling of this data to predict the future environment, the uncertainty in both measurements and modeling, and the need to describe the environment so that various options concerning spacecraft design and operations can be easily evaluated.

Kessler, Donald J.↗